It’s Friday and a beautiful day in San Diego. Carla and I decided a good bike ride is in order, so the Bayshore Bikeway was our choice. Located just south of the city of San Diego, the bike path stretches at least 20 miles, many of which we were not about to ride. Our route turned out to be from letter F to letter C and back – a total of 13.5 miles.
This trail gets high marks for easy riding. Flat as a pancake and paved all the way. Beautiful views of San Diego Bay and the city of San Diego on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Fabulous. There is a large wildlife refuge for much of the ride that runs along the east side of the trail. Our ride featured egrets, ducks, squirrels and piper like birds that we couldn’t identify.
A couple of things bothered us some during the ride. First and foremost was noise. On the western side of the path, for about 90% of the ride lies Route 75 with abundant traffic roaring along at high speeds. We often were unable to hear each other, even shouting, because the car noise was so deafening. If you want to do this ride, just be prepared for tires on asphalt at 60+.
The only other thing is its popularity. Such an accessible and easy trail in the midst of a big city is bound to have a lot of riders. Our ride was no exception. Lots of riders, walkers, joggers, and roller skaters. Folks were quite courteous however, we had no problems with traffic jams.
Worth mentioning is the first half of the ride is much easier than the second! Prevailing winds come from the north and apparently they blow most of the time. Riding into the wind tired us out a bit, but riding back was literally a breeze.
A few pictures of our ride:
